February in Alaska can be a bitterly cold and seems to last forever. There are only a few things that can be done to take your mind off the bone-chilling temperatures, and one of those is to go out and immerse yourself in it. The last weekend of February I did just that, along with Marte and Rune, two friends from Norway. After driving only three hours, we reach Michael Creek, in the heart of the Alaska Range and set out to find the cabin we hope is there. Not finding it, or finding it already occupied, would mean pitching a tent and sleeping outside all weekend (click on the pictures to see a larger image).
The cabin ended up being less than 100 yards from the highway, making it quite easy to find. Inside, the floor was clean and the wood stove worked...kind of.
Saturday morning we drove several miles farther south from the cabin to Castner Glacier, where we donned our skis and headed out. The Alaska Pipeline can be seen behind Rune.
The glacier itself is retreating very slowly, so there was a lot of debris covering the ice, creating a very hilly and rocky terrain.
Before heading out onto the glacier itself, we followed the sloping ridgeline until we were well beyond the terminal morraine of the glacier. Then we skied down onto the glacier to get a closer look.
As we went farther and farther into the valley carved out by this river of ice, the feeling of isolation and that we were an unforgiving wilderness became stronger and stronger.
Some of the rocky debris littering the glacier almost looked like a miniature version of the jagged peaks that surrounded us on all sides.
By far the coolest part about the trip was the total isolation. The trail we blazed through the dry powder was the only sign of life that we could see.
